Where Love Went: Holiday Special: Then Comes Love, #2.5

By Lindsay Detwiler

With the holidays in full swing, it's not long before the drama and hilarity unfold for Charlotte, Annie, and Ameila.

Join the mayhem as this year's festivities unravel.

Where Love Went: Holiday Special is a companion short and is not intended as a standalone. To fully appreciate and understand the events, Where Love Went must be read first.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing
• Release date: Nov 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781925448627

Lindsay Detwiler

A high school English teacher, an author, and a fan of anything pink and/or glittery, Lindsay's the English teacher cliché ; she love cats, reading, Shakespeare, and Poe. She currently lives in her hometown with her husband, Chad (her junior high sweetheart); their cats, Arya, Amelia, Alice, and Bob; and their Mastiff, Henry. Lindsay's goal with her writing is to show the power of love and the beauty of life while also instilling a true sense of realism in her work. Some reviewers have noted that her books are not the “typical romance.” With her novels coming from a place of honesty, Lindsay examines the difficult questions, looks at the tough emotions, and paints the pictures that are sometimes difficult to look at. She wants her fiction to resonate with readers as realistic, poetic, and powerful. Lindsay wants women readers to be able to say, “I see myself in that novel.” She wants to speak to the modern woman’s experience while also bringing a twist of something new and exciting. Her aim is for readers to say, “That could happen,” or “I feel like the characters are real.” That’s how she knows she's done her job. Lindsay's hope is that by becoming a published author, she can inspire some of her students and other aspiring writers to pursue their own passions. She wants them to see that any dream can be attained and publishing a novel isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Book preview

Where Love Went: Holiday Special © 2016 by Lindsay Detwiler

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any written, electronic, recorded, or photocopied format without the express permission from the author or publisher as allowed under the terms and conditions with which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution, circulation or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.

Where Love Went: Holiday Special is a work of fiction. All names, characters, events and places found therein are either from the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to persons alive or dead, actual events, locations, or organizations is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.

For information, contact the publisher, Hot Tree Publishing.

www.hottreepublishing.com

Editing: Hot Tree Editing

ISBN-10: 1-925448-62-2

ISBN-13: 978-1-925448-62-7

With the holidays in full swing, it’s not long before the drama and hilarity unfold for Charlotte, Annie, and Ameila.

Join the mayhem as this year’s festivities unravel.

Where Love Went: Holiday Special is a companion short and is not intended as a standalone. To fully appreciate and understand the events, Where Love Went must be read first.

Charlotte

Slow down, honey. Tell me again. It’s okay.

There were more garbled words. Charlotte pulled the phone away, checking to make sure the phone cord was attached. It was. Apparently the lack of sound quality revolved around Amelia’s apparent emotional state and not the technology.

There were sniffles and sobs for a few moments before Amelia finally choked out the words. I’ve ruined Thanksgiving, Grandma.

Oh, honey, stop. I’m sure it’s fine. Put Owen on the phone.

There were more sobs. Some shuffling happened in the background before the familiar voice said, Hello?

Owen, darling, what’s going on?

Oh, Char, it’s awful. His voice was hushed. It seemed he didn’t want Amelia hearing. This must be bad.

Like how awful? Can we salvage it? Leonard and I are good at acting. We can pretend it’s delicious.

Not possible. I’m talking pure, charcoal-black awful. Smoke detectors going off awful. The whole apartment building was evacuated because of the thick black smoke coming from our oven.

Oh dear. What about side dishes? Can they be saved?

Well, the potatoes, in Amelia’s words, were more like paste. So she trashed them. And the stuffing, which was also in the oven with the turkey, turned to burnt croutons. So yeah, no go to all of that too.

Well, I hate to say it, but I knew Amelia cooking was a bad idea. With the stress and her hormones, I knew she shouldn’t be made to cook the Thanksgiving feast. Plus, she’s never been too talented in the kitchen.

"I know. But I think she wanted to practice being domestic. Maybe it’s early nesting. But regardless, the whole apartment building is pissed, and